AdNews brings the stories of those working from home (WFH) in the advertising and media industry during the coronavirus crisis.
Samantha Deavin is director of marketing APAC at Rakuten Advertising.
How are you dealing with the silence?
Like many other working parents have said - what silence?! With a very active toddler running around, there is very little quiet time (and lots of Zoom call interruptions!) There’s a small window of calm when he naps in the middle of the day, and I beaver away at my work like I’m on borrowed time.
What’s the upside?
I have another baby on the way, and while it’s a strange time to be pregnant, enforced quality time with my husband and son before the seismic shift of adding another child to the mix has been very special. Eating all our meals together, being there for every nap and bedtime, working side by side with my husband… This huge change to our daily routine has a certain charm to it, although this is almost certainly because we know it will be short-lived!
The downside?
There’s a level of guilt when you’re both parenting and working full time – a constant feeling that you’re never quite able to give your total attention to either! I’m also really missing seeing my wider family, friends and my work mates. My sister has had a baby, friends have fallen pregnant and celebrated big milestones, and the yearning to give them a proper celebratory squeeze as opposed to virtual hug is very real.
How are you using the commuting time saved?
We fled the city before isolation laws were put in place, to a sleepy seaside town where my family has a small holiday house. It’s like taking a step back in time. There’s a slow pace of life down here and I’m loving daily walks on the beach and sunset swims.
I am looking forward to being back in the office because…
It will mean a return to some form of normalcy! I can’t wait to grab coffee and lunch with my teammates, or turn to them to ask questions and chat on-the-fly in the office kitchen. While my work mates have been very inventive in creating fun and often amusing ways to try and replicate these interactions over the past month, nothing beats the real thing.
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